Tie shaper



June 12, 195 c. F. HILGEFORD 2,749,554

TIE SHAPER Filed June 14, 1954 Y INVENTOR. CLARENCE F. HILGEF'ORD 8. A-r-roRNEY- I United States Patent 2,749,554 TIE SHAPER Clarence F. Hilgeford, Dayton, Ohio Application June 14, 1954, Serial No. 436,596 1 Claim. (Cl. 2--153) My invention relates to devices to spread out and shape a four-in-hand necktieand more particularly to those devices inserted under the knot. I am aware of a great many devices of this type but in each case the tie shaper has been composed of multiple parts in the form of prongs soldered to the body or clips fastened to the sides of the tie shaper to limit the movement and to hold the tie 1n position or springs and stops fastened thereto 1n order to make them workable. All of these devices are un' acceptable because the cost of manufacturing them is pro' hibitive. As will be disclosed herein my device is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture. I have provided a complete tie shaper of a single piece of wire.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a device which is easily manufactured and sufficiently resilient to accommodate itself to movements of the wearer.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device which is unitary and does not require separate clasps or ancillary parts.

Another object of my invention is to provide a tie shaper which is so simple to manufacture it does not require special machinery to fabricate.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a tie shaper which will adequately hold a four-in-hand tie in proper position but which will be completely hidden by the tie.

A final object of my invention is to provide a tie shaper which will tend to hold the knot in position.

My means of achieving the foregoing objects may be readily apprehended by having reference to the appended drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a tie in which my tie shaper is positioned;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation showing the preferred form of my invention;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation; and

Fig. 4 is a detail view of one end.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the specification.

In the preferred form of my invention, I provide that my tie shaper be formed of very thin steel spring wire 2 commonly known as piano wire. I bend the wire 2 at a point 4 equidistant from the ends 16 and 18 of the wire to form the central portion 9 which thereby becomes a spring. By bending each side 6 and 6 at points 3 and as shown in the drawings, I cross one side over the other at 7 forming a cuneiform structure with legs 8 and 10 extending outwardly for a distance of approximately 25% more than the sides 6 and 6. At points 12 and 14 I form the prongs 15 and 17 terminating in the ends 16 and 18. In order to hold the tie in its extended position, I provide that the prongs 15 and 17 are sharpened at their ends 16 and 18. The ends 16 and 18 are sharpened so as to penetrate the cloth of the tie and not tear the fabric. For illustrative purposes I have shown in the drawings the prongs 15 and 17 slightly larger in proportion than they need to be in production. While there are many ways to sharpen the ends 16 and 18, I prefer in practice to sharpen the ends 16 and 18 in a flat scale as shown in the drawings. The central portion 9 constitutes an insertable point that is laterally compressible by applying pressure of the fingers at the opposite points 3 and 5, by a slight squeeze. This results in the narrowing of the lateral width of the point 4 so that the device may be threaded or inserted into the loop of the knot of the tie. The crossover point at 7 is displaced toward the point 4 as pressure is applied at points 3 and 5 as the device is squeezed between the fingers to effect the insertion of the point into the loop of the knot of the tie and as the sides 6 and 6 are allowed to expand the crossover point or intersection 7 travels away from the point of the needle at 4. At the same time the legs 8 and 16 are displaced in position as represented in Fig. 2. The legs 8 and 10 and the sides 6 and 6 are free of each other except at the front of intersection 7 throughout their lengths. The legs 8 and 19 extend downwardly and outwardly away from the point of intersection and are abruptly bent inwardly at points 12 and 14 and then bent outwardly to form the prongs 15 and 17 which terminate in the sharp ends 16 and 18. The legs 8 and 1t) and prongs 5 and 17 and points 16 and 18 are substantially coplanar.

It will be readily appreciated that when the central portion 9 is inserted into the loop of the knot of the tie and the ends 16 and 18 are inserted into the material of the tie on the underside thereof as illustrated in the drawing, my tie shaper will be held in position and the original appearance of the tie will be maintained, regardless of the movement of the wearer. Continuous tension is exerted against the tie material engaged by the ends 16 and 18 due to the expansion tendencies of the spring portion 9 which forces the tie engaging ends 16 and 18 outwardly against the material of the tie.

While in practice I prefer to use thin piano wire, it is apparent that for various forms of tie knots different size spring wire may be preferred.

I have found in practive that my device, in addition to spreading the tie in its original position, also aids in keeping the knot from slipping, since when the ends 16 and 18 are engaged, the cuneiform portion 9 exerts an upwardly extending tension against the knot material at the cross over 7 thereby resisting slipping of the knot which would be tending to travel in a direction contrary to the exerting force of the tie shaper.

Having described my invention what I regard as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is:

A tie shaper comprising a single length of spring steel wire angularly bent upon itself to form a point symmetrically spaced from the opposite ends of the wire for engaging the knot of a four-in-hand necktie, said point being formed by side members the outer ends of which are spaced from each other to form opposite sides of said point, the said side members being yieldingly biased outwardly from said point, a pair of legs formed integrally with said side members and extending at obtuse angles with respect thereto, said legs crossing each other at a point of intersection that advances toward said point as said side members are yieldingly squeezed between the fingers for narrowing the space between said side members for facilitating entry of said insertable point into the knot of the necktie, said legs extending downwardly and outwardly away from said point of intersection for distances approximately 25% more than the length of said side members and being abruptly bent inwardly at their ends and then outwardly to form terminating tie engaging prongs, said legs and said terminating prongs all being substantially coplanar, the said legs and said side members being-free of each other except at said point of intersection throughout their lengths.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,307,295 Pettit Jan. 5, 1943 2,444,548 Wiebe July 6, 1948 2,624,883 Rees Jan. 13, 1953 

